Chapter Notes 

Chapter 1 Creativity: Unexpected but Relevant Selling Messages Book: Cutting Edge Advertising Research Article: Improving the Creative Process


What does it mean to be creative?
3 Characteristics of Creative People:
1. Risk-taking; right to fail
2. Divergent thinking
3. A sense of humor
Creative Process (Aitchison, 2004)
Creativity is a disciplined eye and a wild mind. The question: How disciplined and how wild? (Aitchison, 2004, p.123)
Develop your own personal creative methodology
Reviving Creativity
Remind yourself of your goal or dream ever day
Write a journal every day
Set aside time to be alone
Hang out with creative people
Spend a week without extra “noise”
Creativity Defined (p. 6)
Creative ads make a relevant connection between brand and target market
Creative ads present a selling idea
Creative ads are unexpected
In-class exercise
Look at ads in your textbook and see if you can identify the unexpected element in the ads and then see if they pass the test for relevance. Has the idea of entertainment fused with the factual message?
Media: The new creative inspiration
When and where a message runs can b as creative as the visuals and words
Innovative media and placement of ads
Just because you can an ad anywhere doesn’t mean you should
Ask if the medium is relevant to the message

Creative Placements
See page 9 in text

Inspiration from consumers
Involving consumers
That’s entertainment, but is it advertising?
Use humor and celebrities strategically

How to use humor in advertising (pp. 17-18)
Know the difference between humor and jokes
Relate to the human experience
Make sure humor is central to product message
Understand your audience’s sense of humor
Avoid humor that’s at the expense of others
Have fun with your product, but don’t make fun of it
Don’t assume your audience is stupid


Humor in ads
Honda commercial with crab  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBX0Jfr62Kc
Superbowl 2007 Commercials  http://sports.aol.com/nfl/superbowlads
Celebrity endorsements (p.19-23)
Advantages:
They have stopping power
Fans idolize them
They’re perceived as experts in the field
People are fascinated about their personal lives
Help communicate selling idea


Celebrity endorsements
Disadvantages:
They’re expensive
Quick fix –not a long-term strategy
May lack credibility
They may endorse so many products that it confuses people
Can overshadow the message
Bad press about a celebrity can hurt the sponsor



Trade Characters
Done right, a character will communicate a selling feature
Can you think of any?
What’s one of the best things about using animated characters?


Ethical and Legal Issues
How far will you go to be creative? Answer questions on p. 24
Myths or truth? On p. 13 ask which are myths and which are truth

Regulations (pp. 25-27)
Know differences between puffery and deception
Be prepared to substantiate a claim
Don’t copy creative ideas from other campaigns
Don’t copy other people’s likeness
Watch what you say in front of children
Respect others’ trademarks
Some Questions
Should a commercial for a popular pain reliever reveal that the reason “more hospitals choose our brand” is because it is supplied at a reduced cost?
Should an auto maker show a sports car outracing a jet plane in an age when speeding motorists are killed daily?
Improving the Creative Process
Research article:
Kilgore, Mark. (2006, July). Improving the creative process: analysis of the effects of divergent thinking techniques and domain specific knowledge on creativity. International Journal of Business and Society, 7(2), 79-108. Available on Pepperdine’s Proquest.
Definition of Creativity
Originality
Effective surprise
Appropriateness (novel and appropriate)

When is an idea considered Creative??
Original and appropriate
Divergent thinking
Being able to merge or combine unusual ideas (Guilford pioneering research on divergent thinking in 1968)
Creative Thinking
Merging thought categories or mental images either across or within domains (conventional wisdom in a field of research…ex: moon and tides similar domains) in ways that have not been done before in order to develop an original and appropriate solution to a problem or situation.
Problem Definition and Creative Thinking
The way a problem is defined has an impact on creativity of the output.
Remote associate theory (Mednick, 1962)
Study’s Research Qs (p. 7)
Do creative personnel (ad agencies) use creative thinking techniques? If so, what is their importance to the creative process?
How does information trigger domain specific knowledge that might eliminate the originality of responses?

See Creative Thinking Techniques p. 7-9
See Domain Specific Knowledge, p, 9-11
Creativity: Just how creative are you??

Chapter 2: Branding
Identity and Image Strategy
Branding Defined
Has a personality
Through identity
Through image
Branding Defined
Identity: the company or brand’s presentation of itself
Logo
Name
Tagline
Color
Architecture
Sound
Brand Identity
Identity leads to IMAGE
Image: How people perceive the identity
Image is direct result of associations people have with the company or brand

Branding Define
Identity + Image = Reputation

Reputation: Formed over time through positive impressions= brand loyalty

Branding Define
Lovemark: Saatchi & Saatchi’s term for “inspiring loyalty beyond reason”

Reputation starts with identity

Reputation of a brand is derived from its image:
Advertisers can indirectly control the image and reputation of brand by directly managing visual identity
Brand Identity Elements
Name
An important asset
What are some brand names you like?

Brand Identity Elements
Logo
Logo: Visual symbol to identify itself to consumers
logotype: just words
Symbol: just visuals
Combination mark: visuals and type
What are some of your favorite logos?

See Aflac Video
Brand Identity Elements
Tagline
Short phrase used with brand name or logo
Aka slogan or motto
More on tagline strategy and writing when we are in Chapter 7: Words on paper

Brand Identity Elements
Color
What is your favorite brand?
Can you identify it with just color?
Brands and color associations: more on color in Chapter 8: Layouts


Brand Identity Elements
Architecture and Interior Design
Inside a company’s building or headquarters
Reflects identity

Brand Identity Elements
Sounds
Can you think of any associated with brands?
How to build brand identity
Developed after research
Look at 2 audiences
Internal: employees and others who have a close connection to brand
External: customers, shareholders, vendors, community, stakeholders
Project a unified message
All advertising and IMC:
Product packaging
Web sites
Stationery
Clothes
Interiors

Publications
Vehicles
Promos
Out of home
Direct mail
broadcast
Protecting Brand Identity
Build support from employees
Intellectual property (p. 46-48)
Trademark
Copyright

Discuss Dove Campaign for Real Beauty—p. 50+
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1731400614466797113 

 

Chapter 3: Diversity Targeting an ever-changing Marketplace
Diversity of American Consumers
African Americans
39.7 million
See percentages on p. 60-61
Hispanic Americans
42.7 million: 14.5% of the U.S.
Nation’s largest minority groups
See stats on 61-63
See examples of ads on p. 61-63

Asian Americans
14.4 million
4.3% of U.S.
See stats on p. 63-64
See tips for advertising to this market on p. 64

Native Americans
2.5 million and less than 1% of nation’s population.
See stats and examples on p.65
Arab Americans
1.25 million
See stats and examples on p. 65

How to reach ethnic minorities
Feature them in starring roles and not just in the background
Seek opinions of people who hail from the culture you are targeting
Be sensitive to nuances in language –see p. 67 for examples of mistranslations (funny ones too)
Show diversity of each group
Learn about their heritage

50-Plus Market
38% of American Adults are over age 49 and is expected to swell to 47% by 2020.
Those in 50+ population control 55% of the discretionary income in US and account for majority of personal assets
Older, affluent ones spend a portion of their wealth on 2nd or 3rd residences, luxury goods, or vacations
Despite wealth and power of older Americans, advertisers are youth obsessed.

50-Plus Market, cont.
Advertisers have not done a good job reaching older people
Advertisers have been accused of ignoring or insulting this market through negative stereotypes and portraying them as doddering and senile

How to reach the older market
Don’t think of older people as just one market
Don’t specify age
Cast models who reflect the way your audience feels
Use narrative style
Set body copy to at least 12 point
Don’t remind them of their vulnerability
Show older people as they are, happy with themselves
Try an ageless approach
People with disabilities
2 in every 7 Americans have a disability
Ask the group members what they think (just like you would do with any other target)
Women (not in text)

Do not ignore or insult women
Women influence 80% of car purchases
Gays and Lesbians
6-10% of population
This market segment is exceptionally loyal– 89% say they would buy products or services that advertised in gay publications

Principles that Apply to All Segments (p.72+)
Look at the whole person, not one demographic characteristic
Avoid stereotypes
Laugh with them, not at them
Make relevant ties to their special causes
Test your ads on a member of the target audience
show diversity in your ads

Activity/Assignment
Choose an ad (such as toothpaste, soap or potato chips) and rewrite the copy to appeal directly to an ethnic minority
write headlines for the following products: arthritic pain reliever, denture adhesive, undergarment for adults with bladder problems
 

Chapter 4 Fact Finding: The Basis for Effective Creative Work
ADV 475
Research Stages
Step 1: State Your Question(s)
Define the question or problem you’re investigating
Questions that may lead to the BIG IDEA
See questions on top of p. 47

Research Stages, cont.
Step 2: Secondary Sources
Trade Associations
See Gale’s Encyclopedia of Associations
Company Records
Annual reports
Customer profiles
Public relations files
Technical reports
Web site
Research Stages, cont.
Step 2: Secondary Sources, cont.
Libraries see p. 52-54
Indexes to articles in periodicals
Sources to statistical information
Syndicated market data (VALS) Psychographic techniques –go to SRI’s VALS on Web and take SRI VALS 2 survey: http://www.sri.org
Computer databases and online services
Research Stages, cont.
Step 2: Secondary Sources, cont.
Web sites –see p. 91 and my Web site at http://arachnid.pepperdine.edu/grosenkrans
Research Stages, cont.
Step 3: Primary Research pages 92-98
Firsthand experience
Surveys
Focus groups
Observations
Experiments
Online research
Ethnography
interviews
Projective techniques

Research Stages, cont.
Step #4: Interpret the data
Common Mistakes in Research
Asking the wrong questions (see Coca Cola example, p. 99)
Believing everything people tell you
Not testing to see if the data is relevant to your client’s problem
Biasing the results
Not studying someone who’s typical of your audience
Advertising Education Foundation
http://www.aef.com
In class
Educational materials
Videos to view online
Research
Ad process too
ResearchTools
http://www.bu.edu/library/guides/marketing.html
 

Chapter 5: Strategy: A Roadmap for the Creative Team
ADV 475
Strategy
Strategy is the way you plan to sell the product, not the words and images you use to do that.
Strategy: identifying what you need to say even before you’ve found the right way to say it.
Strategic planning: stage between fact gathering and creative execution (p. 107)
Strategy: like a road map for client and creative team—maps directions the ad campaign should take

Strategy
“A strategy is not a request to produce a campaign. It should be the blueprint for the campaign, the path through the minefield” (Atchison 2005, p. 92).
Example on p. 92 in Atchison book
Strategy is “the single starting point for the creative process” (Simon Sherwood)
Brand Building
Brands are in for the long haul
Cannot keep changing
Build elasticity into a brand—know what you can stretch with the consumer and what’s unstretchable

Think ROI
Before finalizing strategy, think ROI that your client will get from answering, “Why is advertising the best answer?”
Is the strategy relevant? Original? Have impact? Will it bring results?
Disruption
TBWA Chiat Day’s term for a revolutionary approach to advertising
Disruption theory starts from the premise that every company exists in a world where things are constantly changing in the context of the company, the brand, the marketplace and consumer
Disruption, cont.
A company needs to break through its own way of looking at things—disrupt its own conventions
Disruption, cont.
4 Conventions (p.96 in Atchison)
How a company sees itself and how it works
The way companies in a category go to market
The way companies in a category advertise their products
The way consumers see products


O’Toole’s 3-Point Strategy
John O’Toole of American Assoc. of Ad Agencies: consider3 things when determining a strategy (p. 110):
Who or what is the competition?
Who are you talking to?
What do you want them to know, to understand, to feel?

Focus on human needs
DDB Needham explores emotional and rational rewards of using its products. See example of cheese on p. 113:
In-use rewards
Results of in-use rewards
Incidental to in-use rewards
McCann-Erickson’s Role Playing Approach
P. 113: McCann-Erickson agency says to get inside the head of your consumer by acting as though you were that consumer. Write your responses to the first 6 questions in the consumer’s voice and write the final question, #7, in your own voice
McCann-Erickson’s Role Playing Approach
The 7 questions (see p. 114)
Who is our target?
Where are we now in the mind of this person?
Where is our competition in the mind of this person?
Where would we like to be in the mind of this person?
What is the consumer promise, the big idea?
What is the supporting evidence?
What is the tone of voice for the advertising?

Bell Helmets example
Sample of McCann-Erikson’s Role Playing approach using the Bell Helmets on p. 114
Account-Planning Approach
Role of account planner, p. 115
Insights are summarized in a creative brief and presented to copywriter and art director to help them get into mindset of target market
Account-Planning Approach
Creative Brief must address:
Role of advertising: why are you advertising, what is the problem that advertising can solve, how will client benefit, how will consumers benefit)
Target audience: give description
Key insight:
Benefit
Brand personality/brand promise
Mandatories: ex: bank ads must contain financial disclosures
See my Web site for your project’s creative brief: http://arachnid.pepperdine.edu/grosenkrans
Stating the Strategy
Try to write as visually as you can so you can see and hear consumer in your mind.
Linking strategy with thinking/feeling and high/low importance scales (p. 119)
Foote, Cone and Belding ad agency has a model based on 2 factors:
Some purchasing decisions are based on logic while others are based more on emotions
Some purchasing decision may involve extensive deliberation, while others are made with little or no thought

Linking strategy with thinking/feeling and high/low importance scales (p. 119)
Model as a grid with 4 quadrants (p. 119):
Quadrant #1: thinking/high importance
Quadrant #2: Feeling/high importance
Quadrant #3: thinking/low importance
Quadrant #4: Feeling/low importance
Think ROI
Think about the Return on Investment (ROI) your client will receive from advertising by answering the question, “Why is advertising the best answer?”
Another ROI that’s important to testing your strategy:
Ask if it’s relevant to target
Ask if it’s original or too similar to that of other brands in your product category
Ask if it has impact and will bring results
Checklist for Strategy
Does your strategy have the potential for visibility?
Does your strategy have the potential for relevant and unexpected connections that can build a relationship between brand and prospect?
Did you use the best type of strategy for this task?
Checklist for Strategy, continued
Did you place the product at the appropriate point on the thinking/feeling and high/low importance scales?
Does your strategy address one or more basic human needs?
Did you include emotional benefits as well as rational ones? Can the product support these benefits?
Did you consider what strategies the competition is using as well as what they may have missed?
Does the strategy address the target market in a tone appropriate to this market?


Strategy Statement Format p. 120
Use the following to help you write your strategy statement (p. 120):
Who is our target?
Where are we now in the mind of this person?
Where is our competition in the mind of this person?
Where would we like to be in the mind of this person?
What is the consumer promise, the big idea?
What is the supporting evidence?
What is the tone of voice for the advertising

Chapter 6
Ideas: The Currency of the 21^st Century

“The market is ad rich and idea poor.” –Roy Spence of GSD&M

•The key question is, “How do you come up with the BIG IDEA?

How do you come up with the Big Idea?

What’s a Big Idea?

•“The one thing you can say about the product or service” –Tom  Altstie and Jean Grow

•“Sell the sizzle and not the steak”—Joseph Sugarman, copywriter, 2007

•Sell the concept, not the product (unless the product is so unique and becomes the

concept itself)

How do you come up with the
BIG IDEA?

•5-step process by former exec. VP at J. Walter Thompson, James Webb Young:

–Immersion: immerse yourself in background research

–Digestion: play with the information, doodle, list features, write phrases

–Incubation: put assignment aside

–Illumination: brainstorm

–Reality testing: ask: is the idea really good? does it solve the problem? is it on strategy?

Turn an idea into a campaign theme

•Need to come up with an idea that has “legs” –run over time in a campaign

•Avoid thinking of an idea for a single ad

•What will it be like 1, 5, 1o years from now?

•What are some campaigns’ big idea?

Big Idea to many ideas that support campaign theme (p. 132+)

•Where will your ad run?

•What’s the context of your message?

•What’s the timing of your ad?

•What’s in the news?

•Can you borrow from pages of history?

Big Idea to many ideas that support campaign theme (p. 132+)

•What are the negatives about your band?

•What if your product were something else?

•What is your target audience watching and reading?

•What does the product look like?

•Where is the product made? Sold?

Big Idea to many ideas that support campaign theme (p. 132+)

•Can you say it with just pictures or just words?

•Is there an ideal spokesperson?

•Is there an idea in the brand’s name?

•What’s the opposite of what you are trying to say?

•Can you combine any of these?

•Target’s visual approach

•Target’s Visual ads

Brainstorming

•Don’t think you need to come up with the Big Idea yourself

•Swip file

•Exercise your creative mind (expose self to other creative venues)

•Come up with lots of ideas

•Be ready for an idea to come when you least expect it

•Set ideas aside—don’t settle for first one

•Test idea on others

•Give yourself some down time

Criticism        

•See suggestions in text, p.144

–Key to good critique is objectivity

–Make “I” statements (ex: I’m confused by this…)

–Comment on work and not person

–Never say, “this is great, BUT…” eliminate the ”but”

–Control emotions—speak in normal tone

–Show empathy and understanding

–Offer practical suggestions

–Be honest
 

Chapter 7 Words on Paper: Connecting to Consumers’ Hearts and Minds
ADV 475
Dr. Rosenkrans
Functions of Headlines
Capture readers’ attention
Select audience
Hook readers into body copy
Communicate a benefit (see samples, p.158+)
Reinforce brand name--some creative campaigns use the product’s name as the big idea—see p.159
Make a connection to customer: make message believable (see Avis ad, p. 159)
Enhance visual
Checklist for Headlines (not in text)
Intrigue, involve reader
Encourage reader to body copy
Promise benefit relevant to selling idea
Make emotional connection to reader
Reinforce brand name
Work with visual to create synergy
Types of Headlines (p. 159+)
Direct benefit: offers readers a reason to use benefit
Reverse benefit: imply consumers will be worse off without advertised product or service
Factual: interesting pieces of trivia
Selective: address head to specific audience
Curiosity: tempt with enough info to want to read more
News and new: what’s new (introducing, now, finally, at last, today, presenting, first)
Types of Headlines (p. 159+)
Command: order reader to do something
Question: pique curiosity and involve reader in ad
Repetition:
Word Play
Metaphors, similes, analogies: one way to describe a product
Parallel construction: repeats structure of phrase or sentence
Rhyme

See Writing Headlines Slides
See Writing Taglines slides
Body Copy: Approaches
Standard: lead-in bridges head and rest of copy

Copy as story (narrative)
Dialog (she said, I said…) see Eggs ad p. 167
Bulleted copy/listings
Poetic


Mandatories (writing the small print)
Mandatories are statements required to appear in ads usually found in small print beside or below ad (sometimes required by law)

Answers to common copy questions (p. 168+)
Is it OK to break the rules?
What’s the best head length?
Which is better: long or short copy?
Do you need a slogan?
How should copy be formatted? (see Figure 7.7 on p. 172)
Guidelines for writing effective copy (p. 171+)
Love your product
Don’t try to do everything in one ad
Write to one individual (use “you” liberally)
Avoid use of jargon
Avoid catchall phrases, like “perfect for any occasion”


Guidelines for writing effective copy (p. 171+)
Be specific
Don’t brag
Use present tense and active voice
Use transitions
Avoid cliches
Vary length and structure of sentence
Don’t overdo the brag

Guidelines for writing effective copy (p. 171+)
Make strange familiar and familiar strange
Write out loud
Test your copy
Revise your work
Checklist for Writing Copy (178+)
Message reflects strategy
Message makes emotional connection to reader
Tone of ad appropriate
Head stops, intrigues, involves reader
Head encourages readership of body copy
Offers a promise or benefit relevant to the selling idea
Head works with visual

Checklist for Writing Copy (178+)
Body copy has readable paragraphs and conversation language
Copy sounds like a conversation
Selling points presented in nonboastful way

Message ends with urge to action, summary of main idea, or open-ended statement to provoke readers to complete the thought
Consumers connect message to brand

Outdoor Advertising
Keep graphics simple
Type BIG and bold
Brand or company name prominent
Consider using campaign tag line/theme
Transit Advertising
Short message
Audience can spend more time with the message (e.g., take-one cards)
POP
POP: advertising at the point of sale
Impulse purchases
Common forms of POP:
Window poster
Permanent signs inside and outside store
Special display racks
Shelf takers
Coupon dispensers
Shopping cart signs
Floor ads

 

Writing Headlines
Dr. Rosenkrans
ADV 475
What good headlines do
Gain immediate attention
Select right prospect
Lead readers into text
Creates synergy with visuals

Popular Headline Categories
News: Use when you want to introduce a new product, new brand, new feature
Direct Benefit: use when you want to promise a reward or highlight the prime benefit in the headline
Curiosity: Use when you want to intrigue the reader into finding the main idea in the body copy
Emotional: use when you want to sell the image and/or invoke resonance in the reader
Directive: Use when you want the reader to do something
Hornblowing:Use when you want to impress the reader by being the biggest, the fastest, the first, etc.)
Comparison: Use when you want to differentiate your brand from the competitor or use a metaphor to describe your product.
Label: use when you want to focus on the brand name, product name, or campaign tagline rather than discuss features or benefits.

Use these words to increase response rates
Advice
Announcing
At last
Free
How
How to
new
Now
Reduced
This
Wanted
Which
Who else
why
Proven Head Styles
Question
How-to
Quote
 

Tips for writing heads
1.First start with the one thing you can say about the product. It’s not a headline but it’ll give you starters to build one
Then, write down various product attributes
Headlines can be generated from the product attributes

2. Rhyme, rhythm, and alliteration. Can make headline memorable.

3. Rhythm: connects a few well chosen words

4. Alliteration combines two or more words with the same initial sound
Puns and wordplay

5.Parallel Construction (combining phrases or sentences with similar key words to make a point

6.Understatement/overstatement: if your visual is wild and crazy or excessive, back off verbally. And vice versa. Don’t shout twice.

Avoid writing ineffective heads
Don’t ask a question you can’t answer
Ask a question that can be answered with a simple yes or no
Avoid stupid puns—ones that have no relation to product or market
Don’t insult, condescend, patronize
Don’t be clever for the sake of cleverness. If you can’t be clever, be clear.